On ARD, Obama and other leaders voice recycling support

On ARD, Obama and other leaders voice recycling support

This year America Recycles Day (ARD) received a special boost from the nation's capital, as President Barack Obama and Senate and House members chimed in on the importance of recycling.

Calling ARD "a great national tradition," President Obama issued his yearly presidential proclamation[1], making Nov. 15 officially ARD. "I call upon the people of the United States to observe this day with appropriate programs and activities, and I encourage all Americans to continue their reducing, reusing, and recycling efforts throughout the year," the statement read. President Obama began issuing presidential proclamations in honor of ARD in 2009[2].

In addition, on Nov. 14, Keep America Beautiful (KAB), in partnership with the Ad Council, hosted two congressional staff briefings on the state of recycling and KAB'S "I Want To Be Recycled" campaign in the U.S. According to KAB, more than 100 people were in attendance, including Sen. Tom Carper of Delaware, Sen. John Boozman of Arkansas and Rep. John Shimkus of Illinois. Sen. Carper reportedly told those in attendance he was "rabid about recycling."

On ARD, Sen. Carper tweeted a video[3], imploring viewers to celebrate ARD and to recognize the importance of recycling. Twitter was also the chosen platform for EPA head Gina McCarthy to voice her support for the day, quoting President Obama's "let us strive to make recycling part of our daily lives."

According to KAB, the hashtag #AmericaRecyclesDay reached 3.3 million Twitter accounts and 5.6 million impressions between Nov. 11 and Nov. 17. In addition, some 326,000 unique visitors checked out the Facebook pages of ARD and KAB during that span.